TEHRAN – Esteghlal football team were held to a 2-2 draw by 10-man Paykan on Matchweek 4 of the 2025/26 Iran’s Persian Gulf Professional League (PGPL) on Sunday.

In the match held at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium, Kasra Taheri gave the visiting team a lead in the 23rd minute but his teammate Milad Bagheri was shown a red card two minutes later.

Esteghlal Albanian winger Jasir Asani equalized the match in the stoppage time of the first half.

Taheri scored Paykan’s second goal just three minutes into the second half but with 10 minutes remaining a penalty was awarded to Esteghlal due to Paykan’s handball and Asani completed his brace.

Later in the day, Tractor defeated Sepahan 2-1 in Isfahan’s Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium.

Tractor forward Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh scored from the penalty spot just before the interval and Mohammadmehdi Lotfi equalized the match in the hour mark.

Hosseinzadeh scored the winner in the dying moments of the match.